Treasuring minutes,making them count

The holidays are in full swing right now. People going totally bonkers shopping here and there and buying baked goods and gifts and this and that. We had some shopping to do and I totally dreaded the thought of Saturday, 2 weekends left before Christmas and the crowds.

So we hit the stores by 8 AM. yep smartest move of the day. We did not have a lot to get, I had baking to do- I wanted to make some special things for a special time tomorrow.  The goal was to be home and baking while people are out there fighting for parking spaces, and huffing and puffing in line because they are being inconvenienced by waiting in line, yep- got home before the shoppers had their first cup of coffee.

We even finished our journey with a coffee and Dunkin, and some relax time before heading home.  Then the fun times began. This is the end result of my first of 4 treats…. mixing ingredients together and grating apples up, and poof apple muffins about to bake.

While these were baking I started project number 2- making an apple strawberry pie for us to cut into small pieces and freeze, taking one out every once in a while for a small treat. That went in the over when the muffins came out.

While that was baking it was time to make cinnamon donuts and donut holes. I bag each separately and put them in the freezer for a treat. Mark likes to get one for a breakfast type item with his AM cup of coffee.

As the donuts were cooling before their deep freeze, I took the apple muffins and kept some out for tomorrow and the rest individually frozen for sometime in the future.

Last but not least the pie came out and in went a dump cake to cook to a yummy delight. – that too for tomorrow. Finally after hours and hours of shuffling, and mixing and cooking ta da……. ( The pie has “I LOVE YOU” on it, but it is hard to read. )

The dump cake and plate of muffins all set to go over to our special treat.

Tomorrow Adrianne and Josh, Caleb and Mackenzie are coming to Phoenix for a family dinner at Amanda and Jeffs and their 3 kids.

I am looking forward to having everyone in the same place. Adrianne and Jeff have been brother and sister since they were 3. Lots of years have gone by since then, and Mark and I both tried very hard to have them always feel like they were brother and sister.

I always loved this picture, because it is one of many that shows what I mean.

This was at a pool at a campsite that used to be near here- it is now closed …. Yep, we tried to make weekends special…. we had a pop-up camper and would take them camping on weekends when our schedules allowed. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday, but it was a while ago.

So tomorrow we once again will all be together. The time will be way too fast, and all way special. Life is short, we have one chance at each minute. and tomorrow, I am going to try to make every minute a treasure. Whatever you finish your weekend with, I hope you too treasure the gift each minute is.

Until later… Mrs Justa alias Cindy

 

Mrs Justa and Family reunion part 2

After we came back from the first family reunion, which was my side of the family,3 weeks later  we went to a camp site North East of Lockport NY and had our family reunion with our kids and our kids kids.

This is the 2nd year we have done this and it is really nice to do it.

We can focus on one another and being less people it is a great way for the cousins to play together and our kids to spend time together.

Life is so darn short, life is so darn busy, we just do not get together enough. We were there for 2 full days, leaving on the third day in the morning. As I look back at the time I think I was most moved by just watching the interactions and realizing that all of this could not have been possible without Marks and my children. Adrianne and her kids came out on the 1st full day we were there for an afternoon and evening, her husband unfortunately was not feeling good and could not make it. She said maybe next year she will plan to camp the full time too… It was awesome to spend time with them.

The other part that was special to me was some one on one time I was able to spend with Emily. Emily is now 16 and being a teen is not easy ever, I think it is tougher in 2013 than it was when I was a teen. Emily is a smart young lady and she has a pretty good sense of humor. I just like spending time with her. That was special.

I also love time with our kids and their spouses, it is so neat to watch them interact, like they just saw each other the day before, we did miss Josh though. The time separated seems to disappear. And their kids – our grandkids are funny to watch. Jeff and Amanda’s kids are 3 and almost 5 and Adrianne and Josh’s kids are almost 2 and 4. So they go right up the totem pole of toddler ages. They walked around, they rode bikes, they watched as we tried to fly kites, they played until they dropped with exhaustion. The magic of the fire, the wonder of the sunset, the toasting of s’mores, the memories are priceless.

I feel blessed to have this opportunity and I look back at all the bumps in the road, the hills of life climbed, the slopes sometimes slipped on—they all led us to here. And ya know what— every tear, every smile, every wonder, every pray— it was all worth it.

Until the next post…. hang on to the blessings that come before you..watch for the simplest things that mean so much. Love to all, Mrs Justa alias Cindy

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Mrs Justa and a unique situation at the family reunion

One of the things that the boys did was come over to our site and use sidewalk chalk and draw on our driveway. We moved our truck down to give them room and kind of create a boundary line form the park road.

They decided to draw emergency vehicles… the top big one is a police car, the middle was an ambulance and the bottom one became a fire truck.

a little later on I needed to move the truck back up in the driveway about 5 feet. Then I was going to go in the camper and get stuff ready for dinner . The boys wanted to join me. Being the truck is pretty high up in the air, I told the boys they had to get in the truck and I would move it. ( That way I did not have to worry they were in the driveway as I moved it.)

From LONG ago— if I had a kid in a vehicle, before I closed the door I would say—“Hands on heads” ( that way the fingers were not going to be in the door frame… ) So I had the boys pop up in the truck on the passengers side and I said “Hands on heads..” I saw they were both doing that and I closed the door. I moved quickly to the drivers side and opened the door…I had to laugh as Brandon said “ Gamma how long do we have to hold our heads?”

After taking the photo, I released them from position !!

Camping is a time to remember that you have places things go, and they need to get back in their place when you are done with them. You want to make sure what ever it is, that you have what you need and know where it is…

Like the shower stuff goes in a tote bag, you go to the shower, almost methodically take things out in a certain order, and put them back after. I was a little anal with the shower, wanting to make sure it was clean when I got in and clean for the next person. So on the tote bag, in a pocket was a spray bottle of Mr Clean and a squeegee. I really did not mind spraying it before and after, and felt that I was helping somewhat to make it more comfortable.

Now that I am on the other side of this rather weird experience… I can laugh …so here goes…..  on Weds….it was hot and humid, so I decided to wear capri pants that day. Well I  wanted to get my A.M shower and thought that I should shave my legs, so I  made sure I packed the razor—along with all the other stuff… I went over and cleaned the shower, turned on the HOT water..ahhh…. got the razor out and went about my business, when all of the sudden I felt a stinging… I cut my leg !! ( I had not done that since I was 13 !!!) So here I am… all I have is my soap, a scrunggie, shampoo, Mr Clean, clean clothes, my dirty clothes, a white towel and a squeegee. So I am frantically spraying the shower , trying to hold my leg up in mid air and press on the area, as hot water is pouring down on me, wondering how the heck I am going to get from the shower to the camper. I still had to wash my hair—so I did that on one leg- the other kinda swinging back and forth in the air, my body swaying with it…. occasionally needing to grip the wall and I am envisioning me totally loosing my balance and falling out of the shower with my less than taut wet body slapping on the floor..and who knows who would be standing there looking at me… fortunately that did not happen- . But I was still in a predicament – see if I lowered my leg it was going to bleed- so I am trying to maneuver around in this rather precarious position. I knew no one in there..and was thinking ( my mind was like a slot machine –tick tick ticking..) I am looking at my clothes, my white towel and finally came up with tying my slightly used underwear around my leg like a tourniquet and hobbling back to the camper.  I was relieved to see I had not brought my capris there—for the underwear would have been showing as it soaked up the blood… as I walked back. It was a definite Girl Scout move !!.   I slowly dried off my body, quickly towel dried my hair, did the Mr Clean squeegee process—all as I wobbled on one leg…. then back to the camper.. Oh I can assure you that I carefully stepped ..as I did not my make shift tourniquet to fall off on the pathway… I got in the camper—and put on a rather tight band aid, shared my experience with Mark… and chuckled at the what could have beens as I rinsed out the blood…

Looking at my leg today- I am amazed my process kept it from bleeding—I did not nick it.. I skinned it about 1 1/2 inches long !!. dang !! No wonder it stung… HA.. the joys if improvising..the joys of camping…I love camping… but think my bath bag will now include band aids.. LOL.. Have a great night..more family reunion thoughts to come again soon… Love to all, Mrs Justa alias Cindy

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Mrs Justa and the 2013 family reunion post number 1

Well another year has past for our family reunion. I am from a family of 9 brothers and sisters, one sister has died and our parents are both deceased. We live in various parts of the country and we try really hard to get together. This year there were some of us, not all of us. This year we went back to the State Park my mom had chosen so many years ago. It was really not bad, we got heavy rain one evening, but the base of the fire was strong enough to withstand the rain and light up some more logs. It was neat to see the cousins spend time together. Wish my brothers who could not make it had… it was strange not to have them and their families there. We were missing some nieces and nephews and their kids….

We had no cell phone coverage, we had electric on the sites and public bathrooms. Some people tented, some had trailers, some hoteled it….  all seemed to have a good time.

As we entered the weekend and started to observe things, we came to realize there was a passing of the baton so to speak. When we started to go to this part- we were in our 30s and our kids were 7 . Now we are some  of the elders and our kids have kids of their own. Jeff and Amanda became the dinner site- we all gather together for dinner, a dish to pass and eat our meals, talk, laugh and end it with a nice campfire and s’mores and memories being created.

Adrianne has not been to a reunion for years- but I bet she would like to sometime in the future.. she had mentioned tenting it at some point with her family… and heck if they are more on the line of hotel people, there are some people who do stay in hotels. One year we rented a cabin off site and one year we rented a cabin in a town near by….—that is an option too,.….their kids will be a better age next year… hmmm….maybe they will come too.

The transition was subtle at first, but became more apparent as the clock ticked to 10 PM and Mark and I were headed to the camper to call it a night… leaving behind the 30 something year olds and the younger cousins. Yikes.. we were the “older relatives” who went to bed early…

The kids seemed to totally love the camping experience, and I have to admit I soaked in watching their smiles, there sense of adventure, and looking at how totally exhausted they got from being outdoors, from going “creeking” and from building sand castles.

I thought about all the electronic devices and the automation we have in our homes- and even though they are nice… … (as Mark says to the boys… _)

“this is living… it doesn’t get any better than this !”

And ya know what he is right!. Regardless of our various challenges in life,

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regardless of our stressors our hectic sometimes lives… when we got here—the waters smoothed, the days were peaceful, the experience was something I am so glad we got to share…the only regrets are the people who could not be there…. but than again –we do have next year !!.

So I am off…. kinda chilling tonight…. reminiscing …feeling blessed. Love to all… Mrs Justa alias Cindy,

 

Mrs Justa and Spring trying to Spring

A true sign of warmer weather breathing down our necks.. the camper is coming home from storage today.

We had it at a B&C Storage place that has 3 sided, roofed enclosures. The trailer looks great..so it was worth the $$ to do it.
Next year we have bought a cover for it and will see how it fairs a winter outside but covered. IT IS EXPENSIVE to store these things!. About 700.00 a year. So hopefully the cover will suffice for a couple years and we can save $$ from storing it.

This has been an interesting last few weeks for me, it kind of feels like everything is happening fast in life. Lots to do, the world spins quicker… guess maybe it is just because at work we are busy, lots of changes, lots of new things, lots of work.

Home we are trying a new budget system and trying to make sure while entering info on the budget that we are remembering to do the bank stuff too—well sometimes it feels like I am missing something.

We ordered one of those”Flex hoses” the kind that fits in the palm of your hand and supposedly shrinks into a ball when not in use… We did go out and play with it a little.. it is not quite as dramatic as the commercial..but it does shrink up to about 1/4 its size… Maybe we are just not totally professional with it yet…

We have the camper in the driveway and it will be probably  about 6 weeks before we are back camping again. We decided to grass seed the garden…. and go to the farmers market instead. There is nothing more disappointing than anticipating a crop… and than have squash bores and tomato blithe take away a good percentage of the garden… It is fun to go out and pick what we need..but it is time consuming and I do not think our soil is enriched with the right  nutrients  for a garden.

Tomorrow Is TacO Ring Day….

It is a new recipe.. hopefully it comes out as good as this looks…

I will post a photo of our masterpiece… if it is photogenic.

I am SOOOO glad Winter is pretty much behind us.. the snow totals were much more than last year…

 

 

 

Redfield got 4 feet of snow in one storm a couple weeks ago.. before that I think we were close to them—which is unusual..as they usually get lots more than we do…

 

Today we emptied our push salter… we put all but one shovel away… unplugged the heat tape…..and moved the park bench from next to the house wall to the front yard… NOOOOWWWWW if we could just move the temps up about 20 degrees… than I will truly believe SPRING has SPRUNG…

Love to all, Mrs Justa alias Cindy

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Mrs. Justa and HAPPY EASTER>>>

Feels great..sunshine, changing the drapes, cleaning, snow going away, tomorrow I want to do yard clean up… ahhh another winter is slowly leaving. This photo is last Easter… wonder if the snow will be all gone this Easter???

I am kinda glad for today. I finally felt good enough to deep clean. The past 6 weeks I had been knocked down and dragged out by an upper respiratory infection that really kicked my ever moving butt.

Today is the first day I have had some energy. We were going to have Jeff, Amanda and the boys come out for a new recipe Easter Meal—totally non traditional… but the boys are sick, and Jeff has to work… so we changed the meal ideas to burgers on the grill and veggies… and will catch up on our DVRed programs later…Hope the lil guys feel better soon…. .

As life goes on, I have come to appreciate feeling good… cuz when I feel lousy—I feel super lousy. I want to take time and start going through some boxes of stuff I have packed and sort what is really important and what is not.

When people can live in a car…. camper….. they have really sorted out all their stuff… I am definitely a ways from living in a camper!. But what things really will mean anything to any one else after I am gone? What things would just end up tossed in a dumpster- without anyone knowing it’s significance? Not that I plan on dying soon… but life does not go on forever! But there are a few boxes we moved in here,,, and no one has touched since…. so they have my sights on them…

I am thrilled with spring time, no garden this year… time for camping…. Riley is better, I feel good… Mark is getting a second opinion FINALLY on his neck pain/dizziness…….and tomorrow is Easter…. church in the AM… and than we are going to cook a small turkey breast, and just enjoy each others company. Maybe get a walk in…

maybe hit Oswego and watch a sunset appear….

Thank God… I am feeling alive again…. this past 6 weeks SUCKED!!. Love to all, Mrs Justa alias Cindy

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Mrs Justa and a year gone by…

As  the year comes to an end in another day…

It seems that the boys were just screaming HAPPY NEW YEAR yesterday..but in reality—it was a year ago….

I seems like I am still in my 30s… but that was a LONGGGG time ago…

no regrets really… for I truly believe life happens the way it does for reasons….

I look back at all the events of this past year.

Many famous people died, tragic shootings, an election came and went  that totally surprised me, and feeling thankful that I have a job in a time when so many do not.

This year we got to witness our grandchildren growing, and we got to connect in a personal way with our “birth” grand daughter who has grown up to be a beautiful young lady. Her adoptive parents were generous enough to let us spend some time with her. Time which was so precious to my heart.

We have had crazy weather, a Hurricane that really did phenomenal damage to the Northeast Coast. We watched as the space program took it’s last voyage. We wept with those suffering from violence and we smiled at those who achieved their goals.

We watched our niece get her license, we camped more. We got to share time at the family reunion with a part of our family, and we witnessed 2 couples wed.

We lost weight , we gained weight, we had a semi successful garden, and disappointments from it too. We adopted a dog, and we found a true companion. We witnessed the affects an abusive past can have on a dog, and have worked very hard with her , so she can trust life will be okay.

Yes as 2012 leaves and 2013 comes in, the fear of the future of our country lingers in my mind….and the hope that people can come together for the better of all of us.

I hope the media starts to focus on the good and not the ugly. We should know not the evil ones… we should know those who bring good.

Happy New Year to all…. I hope you find happiness as the New Year comes to our doorsteps in less than 48 hrs. !!.AS I look back, I am thankful… and I am looking forward to all the goodness next year can bring. Love to all. Mrs Justa, alias Cindy

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Mrs Justa and a journey through time

My life… I sat on the floor in the corner of this room, looking for something specific. And to my surprise I found much more than I intended to. The bottom two shelves are the photos and music of my life….

I was looking for a picture of a lady I work with. She is retiring in a couple of weeks and this photo was from when I met her, back in 1989. She oriented me to hospital nursing. She and I have had our paths cross for years on end, and then for a bit we may work in different places..but we never lost contact.. And times along the way we end up back in the same place again. She is a special lady. As I looked for this one photo I ran across my life. Things that have been pigeon holed in places in my mind.

It is funny how a photograph can bring you back to that year. It can make you remember a smell, or a breeze, or a sense of wonder . It brings back a feeling of being special, or discovering a place you had never been to before. It also can bring back a feeling of loss, or pain. It reminds you of relationships, of stages of youth, of people who have left this temporary home on earth to go to their destination. It kind of reminds us we are alive.

To relive these moments, to watch my little guy and Marks little girl grow up in photos. To  see their kids growing up…

To realize that even thought it seems the years have flown by..those photo albums on the lower 2 shelves represent miles of life’s highway. The whale watches, the camping trips, the mini vacations Jeff and I took, the whale watches that Jeff ,Mark and I went on, the seemingly endless precious weekends that Jeff and Adrianne got to share with us, the evolving of my family from me being a baby to having all my brothers and sisters, smiles, reunions, marriages, births and deaths. All in-between sunsets and sunrises..each one different.

And as I soaked in the memories as they came to life.. I thought about how lucky we are to live in this country. The unrest in other parts of the world.. I wonder if these people have good memories. Have they stopped to see the beauty of the world? My heart says they have missed a lot of the soft sides of life… for they carry around such anger and hatred.

Yes … my journey through time that has been, it has  reminded me that I have been truly blessed. I thank God for that, over and over again.

I hope you have memories of your life captured somewhere. Stop and take a moment to remember. Good night all. Mrs Justa alais Cindy

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Mrs Justa and can’t get it together

Have you ever felt disjointed? Like things are just not meshing? Well that is kind of how I feel this week. Between having weekend that are filled with things to do……and the garden, the lawn, camping, cars getting fixed, work, ..I just am feeling like I am lacking some down time. I miss going to the gym..but dang each day has been so darn busy…

This weekend that past was a commitment to be away from home Friday thru Sun evening..and than work on Monday. When I have weekends like that, I try to do my home stuff that I love to do on a Saturday AM during the week prior to the weekend. Last week it just did not feel like I ever caught up.

Tomorrow is pay day..that means bill day… that means a day before the weekend. We are here for most of the weekend..and maybe by Monday I will feel whole again…I just feel like I am in pieces.

It is Weds night…I have a dark load washed and in the dryer as I type this…my mind is reeling with bunches of things I want and need to do. We really would like to camp in the next week or so.. which camping is nice… I just need to feel all together.

At work today it was like I started on something and before I could dive into it..something came along to push what I was working on down a peg. I stayed late just to have some time without interruptions. I left feeling more relaxed and less stressed. That was nice!!!

As I look at the next few weeks..I am saddened by the thought that Fall is in a month. This year has been totally incredible with temps warmer than usual—heck I think since April we are at the 25th day above 90 degrees… HERE IN SYRACUSE??? Unbelievable. Not tons of rain… lots of sun, blue skies and puffy clouds… I hate to say it.. but the weather in Upstate NY has been remarkable. Eat your heart out Arizona, Florida and Texas… LOL . The predictions for winter… less snow than normal AGAIN.. I am okay with that ! Heck.. 15 yrs ago being a “snowbird” seemed glamorous ( Those folks who live in northern US in the summer and in southern US in the winter) but now…this place is becoming more tolerable.. I am sure it will not stay this way for years..but it is nice while it lasts.

Last winter was weird when Texas and Florida had snow when we did not.. “doo daa doo daa.. WELCOME TO THE TWILIGHT ZONE!”

Yep..as Fall approaches..temps will cool a bit..the ACs can get drained and put to rest..the camper will get winterized and stored..the garden put to rest..mowers tuned up and parked… ahhh and life will slow down a bit.

I hope you too are enjoying the summer..but please STOP and take some ME time !!

Love to all, Mrs Justa alias Cindy

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Mrs Justa and back from a mini camping trip…

We have just returned from a 2 day camping trip at a KOA about 1 hr from here. It was fun, it was pretty hot weather.. and  it is always nice to get home. I get to go to work tomorrow, and I am looking forward to the 2 days of work, than the weekend.

The washer has just finished the last load of clothes, we have finished dinner, and I feel kind whipped from the day. We got up at 7..and left by about 9, than dropped the camper off at the camping store again—had a few issues that need looking at… and came home.

We unpacked..and as I went to make lunch—I realized the turkey lunch meat was no where to be found. Knowing the camper was sitting for a few days..in the beating down sun…..needing repair—we figured we better go down there and get the turkey out of there.Can you imagine what the camper would have smelled like! I bet they would have fixed the problems quickly and gotten it back to the FAR AWAY lot lickety split!!LOL>>>>

So I finished unpacking the rest of the stuff..packed the left overs in the fridge or freezer, did some stuff around here, and off we went to the camp place to check out the probability that there was turkey left behind.

AND THERE IT WAS… under a grocery bag that was laying in the fridge from me packing the fridge up.

We left Riley at home… she is having trouble with adjusting to us being gone… well.. I left the cooler next to the counter..not thinking this long legged baboon would think the cooler was a step to the counter. She got on the counter..found 2 sub rolls, and took them on the floor and ate them..than proceeded to have diarrhea in the dining room… GRRRR!… I know they said she was a stray—so she probably climbed in all sorts of places for food…. she IS earning confinement in a kennel when we take off places…

She was great at the camping trip. they had a Kamp K-9… which she had more to herself than with others. So I became her play mate….

She does not like to chase balls, was not real keen on the agility stuff… she just had time to be off the leash in a safe area.

We had initially planned this trip with Jeff and Amanda and their 2 kids…. we let Josh and Adrianne know –they and their 2 kids came..and than we mentioned to Emily about it. It was going to be like a mini family reunion for a few days…

BUT.. Jeff and Amanda’s boys were sick..so they were not able to attend. We have a nice time…but we definitely did miss them…

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pool water was cool, the dinner came out very good, the campfire was good for s’mores….and we enjoyed the time spent with everyone there.

 

 

 

 

AS the day becomes closer to being a yesterday..I have thought about how neat it is to get together with family.

We are going to maybe try again in August and see if we can get the whole group together… if not camping.. maybe a summer meal here….. we will have to see… I am closing for now.. gotta finish a few things before ending the day…

Love to all , Mrs Justa alias Cindy

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Mrs Justa and the family reunion

Family reunions… they are neat to have. Our family is pretty large, and unfortunately not many could attend, but those who did, I am thankful for the time with them. It was the first year my oldest brother Don and his wife Sally could not attend. That was weird. They are the rock for the reunion. Sally loves to plan it and organize it, and that component was missing this time around. Don LOVES the kids… and the kids who are now adults with kids of their own. They are very wise and giving of themselves people, they are real people..not pretend. They were missed.

It is strange but even family who live within a 20 mile radius of each other here in the Syracuse area—we do not spend nearly enough time together, so it was good to have quality time with them too. I felt bad for my nephew—who has 4 siblings, and none were there. His mom and step dad were there though and his kids got to spend time with their grandparents.

My brother, his wife, Mark and me, our new dog Riley Regan, my sister and her 2 kids , my nephew , his wife and 2 kids, and another sister and her husband were there. It was a hot humid few days. A few of us had campers with AC- and that was great for Riley, and the grandkids and their parents…—Riley  was not feeling 100%, so the cooler temps were good for her too. . Our nights were more comfortable than they had been in years passed when we had a pop up without AC, and when we were tenting.

I was over at Jeff and Amanda’s one night as the fire flies were darting back and forth. Brandon was trying to figure out what they were. So Jeff caught one in his hands and let Brandon peak inside and see the fly light up… it was magical, it was heart warming , it was wonderful to see the wonder and excitement in Brandon’s face..and the love in Jeff’s face as he was explaining to Jeff what these lights were.

This is living..this is what life is about. Not the DVDs, or the Nike at nite channels.. no nature, parents, kids, spending time with one another ant not I phones, computers, I pads.

Taking the nap under the tree,

playing with bubbles.

 

 

playing cards at a picnic table

 

 

 

 

 

having the grandkids help walk the dog…

 

 

Having a grand child help with the dishes….

 

 

Just enjoying each moment. Now it will be another year before we all come together.

That is a long time. We are hoping all can come next year… each person not there was missed terribly.

I am thankful we were able to share the 5 days though with all who could come for all or part of it.

I love my family… I love my husband who came into my family through marriage and shares in this annual event ! I feel truly blessed.

Love to all.. Mrs Justa alias, Cindy

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Mrs Justa and not quite understanding sailing

We had some friends that needed some help today..so we went to help them. They have a 28 foot sailboat and needed someone to tow it to Skaneateles Lake. They had it on the trailer, and basically ready to hook to and tow.. we have a pick up truck… so together we could make it happen….. and after today I gotta tell you I admire them..and do not quite understand the fact that people like having sailboats.

Dang the amount of work they had to do once we arrived at the lake—well it was pretty amazing. They are flitting here and there, attaching their motor, untangling ropes, attaching pulleys and wenches… me and Mark basically stayed out of their way for the most part. I took some photos… and watched…thinking to myself—that what they were doing was not even the slightest bit appealing to me.

They probably think the same thing about camping..but gee. to me… I prepare the food—get the fridge running a day before we go… pack clothes, plan a menu… and Mark and I take off. He drives the pick up… we work together to set it up…but setting up does not involve cranking up a mast and untangling ropes and driving into a lake edge, ..than they have to hook up a dingy to their boat..and go out in the lake..anchor it..and row the dingy back and forth to shore. I am not a lazy  person but THAT is too much like work to relax…

These people ( other sail boat owners)  were coming up to me and asking me about the boat..like it was mine… and I kept apologizing and directing them to the folks who own it.. It was funny.. I would say I was not a real boat fan..and you would have thought I had just thrown up in front of them… than when I said  …I am a camper… well.. they could not understand my joy of camping much more than I could grasp the joy of getting a sailboat in the water.

We had a friend about 23 years ago, who had a sailboat in Sodus NY..He  insisted we spend a weekend with him.. Now he loved to sail, he had a belly laugh that was contagious, and his voice was kinda like MR Rogers…there was one problem… he could not see from his one eye, and the other was pretty vision impaired. So imagine our experience as he sailed us around. He had no depth perception… and for some harebrained reason he thought a venture out of Sodus Bay and into Lake Ontario was a good idea. Mark and I never sailed a day in our lives…and here we are with  our next to blind captain who had to literally man the whole boat..every few minutes would tell us to duck …he had to Jibe as we left the bay..and to top it off..there was a fog so dense that my job became holding a can and blowing the hand held fog/air horn. He said that was so other boats knew we were there… YIKES>>>The most scenery there was ..was the tip of our nose ..and I was scared to death, I have not been a smaller than cruise ship boat person for years..as I had a boating incident where I thought I was going to drown on the bottom of the lake… so I am not fond of boats on a good day…

Somehow we made it… and we never went out with him again…. and if it is not a boat that can hold at least a few hundred people…well it is not a boat to find ME on…golly gee… in a dingy… a canoe,, a row boat… and kayak…. whoa no!!!!!! I would totally freak out… my subconscious would take me to a panic place that would not be pretty..I can guarantee everyone on the boat would feel like they had a religious experience after listening to be chant the “Lord’s Prayer “ for the entire trip….

Nope… keep me on solid ground, and than .. I am a happy camper !

Love to all, Mrs justa… alias Cindy

Technorati Tags: sailing,boating,camping,life,fears,water,panic,freak-out,relaxing

 

Mrs Justa and the full moon weekend…

The full moon has been at it’s best this week.. Man oh man. The strangest things seem to happen. This afternoon we were heading home from a quick errand, windows and sun roof open, the sound of the wind whishing all over the place..all of the sudden I am feeling a burning sensation  in my arm..I mean a super whammy burning..I look down and  yellow jacket had come into the car and was stinging my arm. It took a minute for my brain to get beyond the “Hey dummy..your arm is hurting” to “YIKES there is a bee stinging you!” I made some sort of unusual prehistoric type noise, kinda of a growl, started shaking my arm out the window… the bee left… but not without his signature… Dang that hurts…

We went camping this weekend.. man did it rain Friday night. Wind, rain, 49 degrees… THANK GOD we have a bathroom in the camper…I remember camping with pup tents and air mattresses, and if you had to pee—you would have to slow the mattress down from floating in the water that seeped into the tent… somehow get from floating to standing without have the water soak your sleeping bag… and than waddle and shuffle to the bathroom… DO NOT MISS THOSE DAYS!!!..

As we were setting up—we were talking about the hot water heater plug, the one the repair guy had forgot to put in when he dewinterized the camper… -and wondering if it was leaking… we bought tools to tighten it… hmmmm tools???? where the heck are the tools?????    so that led to us looking kinda dumbfounded over where these tools were… So.this whole weekend… we have been pondering  over what the heck we did with the very small tool bag and few tools we bought after our last camping adventure. Each of us was looking at the other , under our breaths saying “What did YOU do with it..” I remember we were together for buying the tools and bag, I remembered Mark staying in the car and putting the tools in the bag when I went in and  got a few groceries a couple weeks ago.. … but that is all I remembered.. Now for Mark..I think he was remembering me doing something with it.. I just kinda got that feeling from his quick glances to me. Heck I was already from the super sleuth mode to “someone must have stole it” . But instead  I started having my one on one with St Anthony..asking please for some assistance AGAIN..and for one of us to come across it… we joked about maybe it was in the pick up truck..nope… how about my car…. nope..than Mark opened the shed—we looked /.nope….. than we looked in the side compartment of the camper…NOPE…. he opens his trunk..and there it is.

 Saturday I had sewing to do, I was making some gifts for someone, and figured if it is gonna be raining –why not sew at camp. So during the afternoon, Mark read some, took a nap and listened to the Yankees game… I cut material, pinned stuff together and sewed away… Than it got drier, and we were able to enjoy the campfire that night. … YES!!

It was a nice hot fire… S’mores highlighted the evening…

AHHHAA –full moon syndrome over come… ( my arm still hurts… )Hope you had a good weekend.

Love to all Mrs. Justa alias Cindy

Technorati Tags: camping,life,fire,lost,tools,wondering,St Anthony,relaxing,sewing,bee pain

 

Mrs Justa and a few days gone..I am back…

Here I am back after 3 days.. this weekend was a non computer weekend. We went camping for the first weekend the camp grounds were totally open.

It was an adventure. Mark continues to battle the dizziness, nausea, and he has his leg and lower back issues, he is exhausted and just does not feel really great. Man – if it was me – I would be a royal bitch after all the months he has been going through all this… . He knows his limitations and he tries to adjust by frequent rests.

Jeff and Amanda had asked if we would be able to have the kids on Saturday, as they each had things going on that would not have been conducive for the kids. We said sure…

So they came to the camp ground for the day. It was a really hot day , we went to the bigger playground , but only stayed about 15 minutes . as the sun would have burned them quickly..even with sun screen.

So we spent quite a bit of the high noon time in the camper. They were really very good, nap time was difficult at first, as Mark had envisioned they would all lie on the queen bed, snuggle and drift off to sleep… well in the actual world… Preston just wanted the portacrib for his own spot…Brandon and Mark tried the queen bed, but Brandon was thinking this was a great time to chat with a very sleepy grandpa… so grandpa came out with me on the patio..and the boys slept in the camper with the AC on for a couple hrs.

Than boys up… grandpa needed a turn for  taking a nap..so I took them to a smaller playground. It was across 3 fields..I figured we could tire them out for their nighttime sleeping..and also give them fresh air… So off we went…

It had less equipment to play on, but we found things to do.

They really enjoyed exploring.

As I was watching them do various things Brandon bent down and out of the clear blue picked an aged dandelion- ready to go to seed. and he blew on it. I took the photo quickly as it was like going back in time 26 years ago…

Here is Jeff at the same age as his son Brandon is now…

I took this with a super telephoto lens.. I do not think he even knew I was taking it…

 

and 26 years later….

 

 

 

 

here is Brandon with the same passion that Jeff had.

It was a nice day…the time seemed to fly by this weekend. We got up there Friday night, had to do a trip to Home Depot as the camper place forgot to put the PVC plug back in the hot water heater.. so when the water came on..it shot out the side of the camper from the opening.Fortunately they did have the plug sitting in the cubby hole where the cover for the hot water heater is…but when we screwed it in—it leaked…  We were able to get Teflon tape and think the problem is fixed…

Saturday zoomed by..breakfast with Shawn and Pat, picked up the boys, spent the day with them, brought them back, than back to the campsite… ,

Sunday we slept in a little, had cereal on the patio, packed up the camper and came back home and had the unloading the camper, catching up on laundry, chores….than off to work today… So.. I wanted to let you know I am still kicking!!…and this is what I was doing Love to all… Mrs Justa alias Cindy…

Technorati Tags: camping,grandkids,grandparenting. enjoyment,memories,weekend,time,playing,hot

 

Mrs Justa and another weekend..where did it go

First I have to share this photo. Mark took it with his cell phone last night – Jeff and Amanda invited us over for a visit and coffee last  evening. Brandon said “Gampa.. and than he did this .

He tilted his head and did a wink like a wheeling dealing guy… Kinda like “Hey there ..you’re looking pretty fine tonight!”

It was so funny..and every time we asked him where he learned it,,he just turned towards us and winked.

The bird saga in the dryer vent is resolved. We found at Home Depot website  that they had a dryer vent cage, Mark picked it up Friday  and we got in on Friday evening. We put it on with mounting tape…than tonight we pulled the dryer away from the wall and took off the vent pipe from the inside…let’s just say..this is done and there were no nests left in this pipe… and ..it was interesting trying to get this accomplished… the space to pull the dryer out is very narrow..and neither Mark or I are as narrow as it is… yep… very interesting…..

So now we have the squirrel dilemma, which we are not certain is an issue any longer. We are listening… observing…

We have our camper out of the storage area and it is going for the Spring workup- where they inspect it, they flush out the water system and replace the filter, and check it over.

We can not go to the camp site where we have a membership , until May 15th… so we have time.

It seems like life just is going way too fast at times. Get up on a Saturday morning and it is time to go back to bed before I know it !. Now heck—it is Sunday at 7:42 and the weekend is gone. Did a lot… intended to do way more than I did….

I can not complain though— just reminds me of those old merry go rounds in the play ground… like this one I found on google images…

does anyone remember these things… Kids would be on it and a few others hanging on and running to get it to go real fast… once you were running so fast it felt like your feet were gonna end up sticking straight out behind you – it was time to try to jump on… any other kids coming to ride had to try to jump on while it was spinning… wellll..life it is  this merry go round..and me I am the runner trying to hop on.

It is time to unwind… time to maybe make a spot of tea and get ready for the week that is starting… Peace to all. Love, Cindy..alias Mrs Justa…

Technorati Tags: wink,life,fast pace,fast,going,camping,birds,squirrels,dryer

 

Mrs Justa and peace of mind

I heard a lyric in a song the other morning as I was getting ready for work, and it was one of those times I stopped and had to write it down…I did not want to have it lost in the mass of information I so kindly refer to as my memory. ( And let me tell you—things DO get lost in there!!)

It was “You can’t put a price on piece of mind”.

Now is that not an awesome lyric. It seems we are trying to buy our peace of mind.

New cars; better jobs; new clothes, different hair style, (or hair color ); different pathways through life—and I bet no one can really say they finally bought peace of mind—that they found it on a shelf in a super secret store—and it cost a lot—but it sure feels great.

IF you think winning the lottery will give you peace of mind- I think you better think again. Talk about increasing hassles- and some will not like you because you won and they are envious—others will feel they are entitled to you donating money to them because they want or need it… can you imagine all the “friends” you found out like you who have not had a darn thing to do with you for years and years.

Peace of mind..looking at the definition…from freedictionary.com

“1. peace of mind – the absence of mental stress or anxiety

ataraxis, peacefulness, repose, serenity, peace, heartsease

quietude, quietness, tranquillity, tranquility – a state of peace and quiet”

The closest I think I get to peace of mind is when I just am.                                                    There are many places it is NOT.                                                                                                        It  is not in a store, not standing in line to get into an event, not driving down the expressway with the entitlement crowd, not in crowds of people.

Peace of mind IS: ( for me!)    being a mom ( that was so special as I lived each year as a mom of a  baby to grown into  adulthood!); being around our grandchildren: having them  sit on my lap as we cuddle or read a book;

watching them sleep;

having them hug my neck and say “I wuv you gamma “ :

 

 

 

 

It is spending time with someone who truly loves you: it is having time for friends;  it is  found sitting around a camp fire;      camping ( after we are set up LOL) :  reading a book; soaking in a hot bath: watching sunsets and sunrises:

being at the ocean; watching the world from the top of a mountain;  sitting in church; singing in church; cleaning; doing laundry; shoveling snow; mowing grass; working out with the MP3 tunes going in my head; just sipping on a cup of coffee and watching the world around us go by from our bench.”

There are so many ways to taste peace of mind—but put your wallet away, do not look on line for it over night shipped, not in stores , not at the lottery ticket booth….

I hope you have places you can be- where you can sample peace of mind.

Love to all.. enjoy tranquility… Mrs Justa alias CIndy

Technorati Tags: tranquility,peace of mind,life photos,hassles,stress,challenges,disappointments,buying,seeking

 

Mrs Justa and the safari at home

I know I have mentioned before Africam. Well for those of you who did not remember, or those of you who never heard of it, this is my relief after a long day. I get in my jammies, sit back with a cool drink of water or a hot tea, and for a while I go to the jungles of Africa.

Most of the time it is noisy, crickets in the background, birds cackling, maybe an occasional elephant, rhino, or creature I am unsure of. But the other night it was TOTALLY cool. I am here, on my office chair, watching giraffes in the wild.

I mean this was totally making my day ,taking me away from the  jungles of ugliness ( my day that had just been!!) and let me  drift away. Mark thinks it is funny how I get mesmerized in the safari from my office chair!

How cool are these photos!

I took videos, man you would think I was there. I was laughing and loving it…I was like a tourist in a bathrobe and fuzzy slippers.

There were mama and papa giraffes and baby ones.

Slurping water, and eating trees. They have to bend their nimble appearing legs in half almost to get a drink.

 

 

And here…

I felt like they were watching me watch them…and I got the bonus of Zebras coming in for a viewing.

Now tell me this is not totally cool

Okay… so some may think I am simple minded… but I am thinking I am being frugal.I went on one site and a safari can run $500 to $10,000+ (excluding airfare). Now for  me ( and Mark when he dares to join in the fun) —it costs nothing more than an extra cup of coffee or tea.

HA—I am thinking if I was going to go on a safari—I would not want to go with the cheaper one. That is quite a difference between the low and the high price! I can assure you I would not be going for the 500.00 one.
This is a photo of the sleeping arrangements on the LOW budget one…(They supply the tent but YOU supply your own sleeping bag..)

Are You Kidding ME!!!!

Man can you imagine having some big ass elephant come and check you out… or a lion..

tiger..

rhino…

Nope… this does not sound appealing! In the one ad it said the lower cost was for the daring… adventure goers. It describes the sleeping as your tent “in the bush”… and you have “bucket showers and long drop latrines”… HA HA… it is more than daring! You gotta be nuts… that does not even sound like something I would go on for free!! and the transportation for “game viewing”  is in 6 passenger mini vans.

I went on line to see what the heck a “drop latrine” is… here ya go… >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>             HA  HA… could you imagine thinking you found a great deal on a Safari,picturing at least a moderate accommodating tour and get off the plane to find you have a 2 man tent, a mini van..and a “drop latrine” .

I wonder how they named that,. and who the heck hangs onto you as you try to hang your butt over the edge…

Now the mid expensive ones have a little more… land rovers transportation, and you stay in a “lodge”

Now this looks a little more appealing…I do not think I would be as nervous of becoming a bedtime snack in this.

I got these last 3 photos from a web wite for reserving a African Safari…

SOOO.. back to this warm home, ice storm outside, jammies on… electric mattress pad warming up my side of the bed… and with a click of the button..I will get my jungle fix from New York… If it gets boring..or some of the beasts decide to go after other beasts… I can click off the screen—instead of try to run thru the bush with my tent and sleeping bag in hand—looking for the drop latrine… HEE HEE… I could see me now….

I hope you have a peaceful night.. Love to all Mrs  Justa alias Cindy

Technorati Tags: wild animals,safari,life photos,jungle,bush,adventurous,vacation

 

Mrs Justa and "auld lang syne"

Wow 2011 is coming to and end in one day. Gee…I do not have nearly everything I set out to do last January…I wanted a lot more out of me…., to have written a book, and won the lottery, and learned something new.

Well… I guess if I was not specific..this blog is kinda like a book, and I ache a little more in the morning( so that is more out of me) , and I did win a few 2.00 scratch off lottery tickets, and I have learned that life is never guaranteed to bring you what you think you want. So I guess, if I really stretch..maybe I kind of achieved my desires for 2011.

We are surviving, we have had some ups and downs, and we are still standing. I made it through being 57… I dreaded that entire 12 mos, cuz my dad was 57 when he died, and everyone in the family always said that the Gaines’s die at 57 quite often.. so I made it through that.

2011 brought us a 4th grandchild…that is priceless… and we finally got a hard shell camper… after 57 years of tents, pop ups and worrying about touching the canvas.. we finally made it to being one of the “old folks” with a hard shell.  ( We will be 74 when it is pd for…but what the heck… keeping the economy going..right?)

We learned we can not trust the 401 K plans, and we can not trust the elected officials to bring about “CHANGE” like they promised.. Oh we have gotten change… but it was not the picture that was drawn.

Life has taught me that childhood is too short, and toddlers are God’s gift … they bring magic to the room, they bring wonder and they want to be just like their parents and love life.

2011 started out with tons of snow, and reminded us that we can make it through some pretty scary days. The folks in the Northeast—well we are used to snow and we have highway crews who respect it.

We were reminded that no matter how much you wish for life to continue, no matter how much money you try to spend for health. that life hurts..and we lose lives that meant a lot to us…and am very thankful for the few photos we have, to remind us of how blessed we were to share our lives together….

 

As we end the year, I am going to shed a bit of trivia… do you know what “aude lang syne” means?? It means  "times gone by." It is always funny to hear people sing it when they have no idea what is is saying… it is like listening to a chorus of hooked on phonics… some will sing out like no ones business any of these phrases…….                        Far hold ang zyne  or

For old aunt Gzyne  or

Farheld ang zyne  or

Farheld ang sign or

For old ang sign –not having a clue what they are singing..but they know it must be meaning something to someone.

So for all you New Year’s Evers… sing it proud as “Aude Lang Syne” and know now you are singing about the times that have passed..the good ol days…

Love to all.. Happy New Year…. Mrs Justa alias Cindy( thanks google free clip art for the images!!)

Technorati Tags: life,children,resolutions,New year,years gone by,before,after,wishing,wondering

 

Mrs Justa and the lucky rooster…

This is across the street from us. I thought it was so darn funny.Jeff took the photo with my new camera that has a 26X lens..

Black Friday comes around, the fowl has been roasted.. and so the Roosters came out to  jump for joy they made it through a day their relatives get gobbled up on.

I was afraid they had become someone’s dinner, cuz we had not heard them for a while..but they showed they proud heads as they strolled over the trampoline.

I gotta tell ya, I am really glad this is a 4 day weekend.. Man, I am still kind of whipped from the festive Thanksgiving day. Actually the whole week! It was exhausting. I am doing a load of wash now, but when it is done, I am thinking I will hit the bed.

I miss Indi terribly, and know as days go on it will be better. It is just so darn quiet here. When the kids were here, the air was filled with jibberish, and talking, and toys clanking and the Nick Jr channel at times. Today is our first non Indi weekend, and it is just weird. We went out to breakfast with our friends, and there was no need to worry what time we left..the cat would be okay.. SO after breakfast, we did the gym, than got groceries and than came home. No need to shoo him away as we lugged in the bags, nope… just the cat was around. He would bark at the roosters, he would bark if he saw a black bird flying over…both things happened—but silence…no barks.

Off I go to the laundry room, his tennis balls are in my dryer, so I hear them bounce … it is the same sound I would hear when Indi played ball with Mark.It is just strange…I hope you good Saturday… I am off till tomorrow.. Love to all, Cindy ..alias Mrs Justa

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Mrs Justa and camping weekend…

Whoa what a long weekend. We went camping on Friday night, and came back mid morning today. It was kinda eerie there last night after all the weekenders had gotten in their cars, trucks and RVs and gone home for the week. We were in a wooded area with just one other camper in the woods where we were.

Friday night and Saturday were nice days, but I felt bad for Mark yesterday!!! He  had gotten pretty sick on Sunday and was unable to walk, drive or anything, so we hung out for another night. While he was trying to chill yesterday I took Indi for a long walk , up to some open fields. Well he picked up the scent of something and kept running in circles, trying to figure out where it went.

This older couple stated that he was probably smelling the coyotes, that they heard them howling the other night. Well that totally creeped me out, as they said the coyotes were in the woods behind where our sites were…. … I walk around there at night, to the shower, or with the dog… with this sense of security… and they had to bring me back to nature reality. Darn them.

You would have laughed to see me in the middle of the wee hrs of the morning going out with Indi. Me and my wimpy pen light flashlight, flittering the ray here and there, just waiting for some pack of coyotes to come up out of the woods and scare the be-jeebers out of me. … Fortunately that did not happen, and I drove to the shower at 10PM instead of walking …

I do not know what I would have done if I had seen one… me in my night shirt… Indi would have not been afraid… oh it would have been ugly.

We are realizing that the camping days are getting limited and we have got to start thinking about snow, and the camper, and what to do with it. Winters are so harsh up here, but the camping stores store the campers outside in the elements. We are in a quandary… do we indoor store it… store it at the campsite… store it here… Man when those snow banks are 6 feet tall.. that is a lot of area where water could creep in vents, door and window sills…. … yuck… … I personally am feeling a little tired from this relaxing weekend of camping…I do not regret going… but it was draining this weekend.

It is kinda cool to go and share the acres with total strangers, who always smile and greet you like you are their friends… Hence the term… Happy Campers. I hope you are enjoying your weekends before the inclement weather hits… for you Northerners…… before we know it the howling sounds of winds and snow will be tapping on the side of the house….. but than… I will start my “One Day Closer To Spring ! “  LOL

Take care everyone…. Love to all, Cindy alias Mrs Justa…

Technorati Tags: camping,life,summer,winter,snow,blustery,spring